BRIEFLY

The SEC imposed sanctions on Charter Co.

The sanctions were imposed for what the commission judged improper accounting procedures that enabled the company to "materially" inflate its earnings reports from 1981 to 1983. The commission charged that Charter overstated its earnings by $6.2 million in 1981, $16 million in 1982 and $6.5 million in 1983. The Jacksonville, Fla.-based firm agreed to comply fully with SEC reporting requirements in the future, to update its current report with a copy of the SEC's findings and to include a copy of those findings in its next annual report. Charter neither admitted nor denied any of the allegations.